Monday, December 11, 2017

Calf Jacket Protocol: A Model Protocol

When to start using calf jackets? When to take off jackets?

I noticed a post on Twitter by Synergy Farm Health Calf Club on November 27th 2017. They gave credit to Jamie Robertson of LMS (in UK). Click HERE to go to the Calf Jacket Protocol.

With my clients I have found significant variation among the calf care persons on a dairy - the herd manager and calf care persons really have not agreed on when to put them on and when to take them off. 

The idea of using a min/max thermometer sounds good to me. With my own calves I kept a min./max thermometer in an old broken hutch to track the maximum daily variation so I know how easy it is to use one. A Google search showed min/max thermometers in a range available between $15-$25.

While you may not agree with all the details in this protocol I encourage you to consider using this model to make up a calf jacket protocol that fits your dairy.

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